"Hey there Delilah" is a love song about a real woman. According to USA Today, the lead singer of Plain White T's Tom Higgenson met Delilah DiCrescenzo in 2004. He thought it would be "smooth" to write a song for her since she was the most beautiful "girl" he had ever seen. Higgenson said, " 'Because I wasn't with Delilah, I had to imagine, If I was with this girl, what would I want to tell her?' ".

He assumed that his musical talents could put her into a love spell:

Hey there Delilah
I've got so much left to say
If every simple song I wrote to you
Would take your breath away
I'd write it allEven more in love with me you'd fall
We'd have it all

He also assumed that this woman needed someone to take care of her financially:

Hey there Delilah
I know times are getting hard
But just believe me girl
Someday I'll pay the bills with this guitar
We'll have it good
We'll have the life we knew we would
My word is good

He even goes as far as writing that his infatuation with her is her fault:

Delilah I can promise you
That by the time we get through
The world will never ever be the same
And you're to blame